brainpopfandomcom-20200223-history
Greek Gods/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim is sitting at a desk and drawing a chart. Moby walks over to him. MOBY: Beep? TIM: I have to make a family tree of the Greek gods for my history class. It's all pretty complicated. Moby hands Tim a letter. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim & Moby, Who were the Greek gods? From, Theodore. TIM: The ancient Greeks were polytheistic. That means they believed in more than one god. They had a whole mythology that explained their gods’ roles in the universe. The story goes that three brothers; Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon; gambled for control of the heavens, sea, and underworld. An image shows three gray-haired gods: Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, drawing straws. Zeus holds the longest straw, a frowning Hades holds the shortest straw, and Poseidon holds the medium straw. TIM: Poseidon won the sea, Hades won the underworld, and Zeus won the heavens. The gods agreed that they would share control of the earth, which led to a lot of arguments and fighting. Side by side images first show Poseidon in the sea, wearing a gold crown and holding a large trident. Hades is seated on a dark throne beside a three-headed dog. Zeus is presiding over heaven and holding a lightning bolt. MOBY: Beep? The image shows a map of Ancient Greece and focuses in on Mount Olympus, between Macedonia and Athens. TIM: Yeah. According to legend, the twelve main Greek gods lived on top of Mount Olympus. They were known as the Olympians. But Mount Olympus wasn’t always a very friendly place to live. Let’s take a look at some of the major players on Mount Olympus. Since he controlled the heavens, Zeus became the ruler of the other Greek gods. Hera was his wife, and they didn’t have the greatest relationship. Hera was jealous at Zeus’s interest in other women. An image shows Zeus and his wife Hera. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yep. Then there was Apollo, the god of medicine, music, and the sun. An image shows Apollo flying in his horse-drawn chariot in front of the sun. TIM: His sister was Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Artemis and Apollo were actually the children of Zeus and a mortal woman, Leto. An image shows Artemis hunting in the forest. She holds a bow and pulls arrows from a pack on her shoulder. TIM: Aphrodite was the goddess of love. She was married to Hephaestus, the god of metalworking, but she was actually in love with Ares, the god of war. An image shows Aphrodite holding Hephaestus’s hand, but looking at Ares. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I know. It’s like staying home from school and watching soap operas. Demeter was Zeus’s sister and the goddess of grain and the harvest. An image shows Demeter holding a staff and checking crops. TIM: Athena was the goddess of justice and learning. She was born fully-grown from Zeus’s head. An image shows Athena wearing a large battle helmet. The image pulls back to show Athena springing fully-grown from Zeus’s head. TIM: As the ruler of the sea, Poseidon controlled the wind and the waves. When he got angry, rough seas were sure to follow. An image shows Poseidon holding his fist out. A wave rises behind him. TIM: Hermes was another of Zeus’s sons, and he was a messenger of the gods. He had the job of conducting souls to the underworld, ruled by Hades, as you remember. Hades wasn’t very happy about getting stuck with the underworld, and he stayed away from Mount Olympus most of the time. An image shows Hermes flying above Hades in the underworld. Wings adorn the back of his calves. He holds the hand of someone he is taking to the underworld. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, the whole thing sounds complicated, but the gods were a part of everyday life for the ancient Greeks. A sick person might ask Apollo, the god of medicine, to make them well again. Sailors would make sacrifices to Poseidon to keep storms away. The Greeks made animal sacrifices to the gods before going to war, before sporting events, to show their thanks, or to find out the future. Oh and by the way, there were lots of other minor gods and goddesses who ruled over all sorts of other things on Earth. It was a pretty big family. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, the Greek gods didn't really go anywhere. People just stopped believing in them eventually and decided to believe in other stuff. MOBY: Beep. TIM: You want to have control of the seas? Moby nods. TIM: Um, okay. Go for it. Moby wields a trident like Poseidon in a bathtub filled with water. Tim knocks at the door. TIM: What are you doing in there? Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts